Chicago Teens Surveyed on Neighborhood Investments

Local youth identified jobs and business development as key priorities for city investment during a July survey.

Updated on Sept. 25, 2026 in Youth

Chicago Teens Surveyed on Neighborhood Investments

Live Poll

Should your community prioritize creating local job and business opportunities over other public service investments?

In July 2026, 121 Chicago teens participated in a survey by My Block, My Hood, My City to determine investment priorities for their communities. Respondents prioritized jobs and retail growth, largely focusing on the South and West Sides.

Why it matters

The survey aims to align future urban programming and development projects with the explicit interests of local youth. By crowdsourcing these preferences, the organization seeks to ensure that capital flows into areas teens feel need it most.

Nearly 20% of respondents identified job creation as a top priority, while 15% pointed to business and retail. Participants were asked to allocate a hypothetical $50,000 investment across various community sectors.

The players

My Block, My Hood, My City

This Chicago-based non-profit organization focuses on providing youth with educational and economic opportunities.

Chicago Youth Works

This city-led initiative is dedicated to creating employment opportunities for local teenagers.

The details

Teens participated by placing push pins on a map to indicate where they would direct funding, selecting from categories such as education, parks, and mental health. This initiative coincided with Downtown Day, an event that engaged 1,000 teens with $50 prepaid debit cards.

In 2025, Ogden Park was approved for a $25 million fieldhouse.
The survey was conducted among teens in July 2026.
The Chicago Youth Works initiative created 32,500 jobs during the summer of 2026.

Culture Shift

This effort marks a departure from top-down urban planning, as it explicitly integrates youth-driven data into the broader development trajectory of the city. It aligns with the operational scope of the Chicago Youth Works initiative to address systemic gaps in youth access to economic resources.

Residents may see a shift in future local programming and development projects as the organization uses this feedback to guide its initiatives. The data highlights a strong local demand for retail and job-based infrastructure that could influence future neighborhood investment decisions.

The takeaway

The data reflects a generation prioritizing economic stability and local commerce as essential components of community health. Engaging youth in this manner allows organizations to create more targeted programs that reflect the actual needs of the residents they serve.